


everything that we should be

by iridescentOracle (iridescentOwl)



Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Minor Angst, Misunderstandings, Mutual Pining, resulting in, which are then resolved
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-09
Updated: 2015-02-09
Packaged: 2018-03-11 08:55:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,567
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3321434
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/iridescentOwl/pseuds/iridescentOracle
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“Valentine's Day is kind of the worst. Like, Bitty's all about love and happiness and excuses to eat chocolate, but when every single thing that happens just shoves back in his face how very single he is and how very much he wishes he weren’t…” </p><p>In which Bitty tries to wallow and fortunately is dissuaded.</p>
            </blockquote>





	everything that we should be

Valentine’s Day is kind of the worst. Like, Bitty’s all about love and happiness and excuses to eat chocolate, but when every single thing that happens just shoves back in his face how very single he is and how very much he wishes he weren’t…

Chowder has been off the walls about his date with Farmer all _week_ , and Bitty hasn’t had the heart not to be really excited for him, but otherwise, it’s all exhausting. Ransom and Holster had some harebrained scheme for all the single guys on the team to go out together and just chill, but Bitty had begged off, saying he wasn’t really feeling well and just wanted to go to bed early. Or something. He doesn’t really remember what.

* * *

Jack isn’t actually _enjoying_ this weird party thing Ransom and Holster cooked up, so he slips away as soon as he gets the chance, figuring he can go watch a documentary in the living room without everyone else there being obnoxiously loud, and then maybe follow Bitty’s lead and go to sleep on the early side.

And hey, if Bitty just happens to be awake still the _polite_ thing to do would be to invite him to watch, eh? Jack is a good friend. No secret hopes here. Nope. None. God, Jack is shit at lying to himself.

(And of course he’ll need to check on Bitty to see if he’s actually falling asleep _anyway,_ just to make sure everything’s okay—what if he was feeling a little down earlier and just didn’t want to be bothered by the whole team about it? or what if he’s actually sick and it’s gotten worse and he needs something but doesn’t feel up to getting it himself?)

But Jack walks into the Haus and—he’s pretty sure that’s Taylor Swift’s voice? he’s heard enough of it to feel fairly confident he knows whoever that _is,_ and he _thinks_ it’s her, but she doesn’t usually sound this… sad? and he’s pretty sure he remembers she used to be a country artist but Bitty doesn’t _like_ country music, why is he listening to this? is someone _else_ here? what is going _on_?

But no, that definitely smells like a pie in the oven, and nobody but Bitty would break into the Haus to bake pie and listen to Taylor Swift (not that Bitty ever _did_ break in, as far as Jack knows—he never _had_ to, anyone would’ve let him in if it meant pie) even if it’s not the right _kind_ of Taylor Swift.

And sure enough, when he comes close enough to see into the kitchen, there’s Bitty with… a pie cooling on the counter, another one in the oven, and two more in various states of progress. and okay, Bitty makes a lot of pie, but _four at once_? that might be a first.

Jack isn’t totally sure what to do—or okay, _at all_ sure—but he figures letting Bitty know he’s there is probably a good start, since Bitty doesn’t really like being startled when he’s baking.

Except… except should he do anything? because from here Bitty looks upset—Jack can’t see his face, but something about the way he’s standing, the set of his shoulders… it seems to just sort of radiate a quiet sadness, and the _music_ … Bitty never listens to music this sad, something is wrong, and maybe he’d rather just be left alone.

On the other hand, Bitty is _not_ supposed to be sad. there is just. no. So Jack takes another couple steps into the kitchen and says “um. Bittle?”

Bitty jerks up, startled, and—and his face, he’s definitely sad, _something_ is wrong, and Jack doesn’t know what he’s going to do to fix it but he _is_ going to.

“Jack! I didn’t realize you were here. is everything alright? did something happen?”

“What? no. I’m—everything is—are you okay.”

Bitty looks surprised, a little confused, and a little bit… something Jack can’t figure out. “—Me? I’m fine, why?”

He winces almost imperceptibly after asking, but Jack ignores that. “The music. and your face. and. um. you made a lot of pie. you’re sad. what’s wrong.”

“…What? oh, the— _oh_ , right!” Bitty whirls around and grabs his phone, pausing the music, before turning back slowly, apparently bracing himself for whatever Jack is going to ask next.

“Was that Taylor Swift?”

—Okay, that was clearly not what Bitty expected. Which is part of why Jack asked it. “—Yes! how did you know? I don’t remember playing it for you, did you find it on your own? I should have realized you’d like her first album, with your fondness for country music—have you heard the whole thing?”

Bitty seems grateful for the out, but that wasn’t actually what Jack meant to happen. well, Bitty-not-being-sad was, but Jack isn’t sure he’s really _happy_ so much as _momentarily distracted from whatever was making him sad_ , which isn’t good enough.

“Um. no. I just—it sounded like her voice. except sad.”

Bitty’s face doesn’t change. “Well, still, you recognized her, that’s great! and you really _should_ listen to her first album, it’s not nearly as good as her others but she was only sixteen at the time and you _do_ like country music so you might like the sound more than some of her later things—”

“—Bittle.” Jack cuts him off. “You’re sad.”

Bitty’s face falls, and Jack feels guilty for reminding him when he might actually have been distracted for real but if it’s anything that might keep bothering him it could. um. affect his playing. So he presses on.

Bitty doesn’t respond right away, so Jack tries again.

“What is it?”

Bitty blinks and shakes his head and smiles. “Oh, nothing’s wrong! I’m fine, really, just felt like listening to something different for a change.”

Jack doesn’t fall for it.

“Bittle.”

Bitty lets the smile drop and looks away. “It’s nothing, Jack, really. don’t worry about it.”

He turns back to his pie, but Jack is more convinced than ever that something is wrong and Bitty needs to talk about it.

“ _Bitty_.”

Bitty freezes, but doesn’t look up. “Just… let it go, Jack, please. I’m fine, just feeling a little down. Don’t worry about me.”

“No. Bittle, if something is wrong—I—you can talk to me. if you want. I know I’m—not good—at. things. but if I can help.”

Bitty looked up as he was speaking, and seems like he might be considering it, but after a moment he turns his head away again.

“…I’m just going to get these pies finished and go to bed, I think. I’ll be fine in the morning, today was just… hard.”

Jack catches something odd in his voice there. “Today was Saturday, Bittle, and we didn’t have a game or practice. What was—”

He stops in the middle of his sentence, suddenly remembering why he hadn’t wanted to admit he hoped Bitty was still awake.

“—oh. Bittle, is it—are you—did you—is there. someone you.”

Bitty didn’t move while he was speaking, and continues to stay still even after Jack has finished.

“If there’s—do you want to talk. about him. I can listen.”

(Jack hates how hard it is to get the words out but this is what Bitty needs, he needs a _friend_ and a _teammate_ , he doesn’t—there’s someone else, of course there is, why wouldn’t there be, and if Jack can help Bitty feel better by listening to him talk about how great this guy is he _will_ , because Bitty deserves that.)

“Oh, no, I couldn’t—” Bitty starts, looking up at Jack almost panicked, for some reason. Jack doesn’t understand his reaction, but is sure it’s due to something he’s done, and he knows he isn’t good at dealing with emotions but Bitty is his _friend_ and what does he think Jack is going to do? laugh at him? chirp him?

…okay, so if it was someone in the Haus _other_ than Bitty Jack probably _would_ , but even then not until they were in a better mood anyway.

“Bitty. it’s okay. I don’t mind. talk to me.”

“I—no, I—I really can’t.”

“…Can I help with the pie? And. if you wanted to think out loud. or something. you could.”

Bitty takes a deep breath and seems to make some sort of decision. He looks up at Jack and smiles, and it’s the closest to genuinely happy he’s seen Bitty so far tonight. Jack finds himself smiling back without even meaning to.

“…All right, then. You remember this step from last time, right? lay these out like so—yes, exactly.”

* * *

It’s a couple minutes before either of them says anything that isn’t about pie, but finally everything is going smoothly.

Bitty pauses, then continues what he was doing, but he starts to talk.

“There’s… yeah. You were right. there is someone. but he’s… he’s not interested. it… it was easier at first, I think, but then I heard him talking to his ex and… I think he still likes him. And either way, he doesn’t like me like that, and he doesn’t know I like him. and, well, not like anyone’s been talking about anything _but_ romance and relationships the past couple weeks, y’know? I mean there’s class and hockey and stuff, but even Shitty’s been ranting about aromanticism-and-asexuality erasure and all that… so it’s been hard not thinking about it.” he shrugs. “Today was the worst of it, though—it should be easier from here, right? Everyone’ll start to go back to normal now.”

“Yeah. I—I know what you mean. it’s. hard. I hope it’s better soon. for you.”

(Jack can’t believe he just said that, please don’t let Bitty start prying, this isn’t supposed to be about him—)

“—oh. you mean… oh, Jack, I’m so sorry, you don’t need to be hearing me complain about all this! I’m just making it worse for you, I’m sorry, I didn’t real—I didn’t even think about—I really am fine, I swear.”

(and now Bitty’s looking at him all concerned and _no_ , this _isn’t about him_ , he needs to get this back on track before it goes somewhere it wasn’t supposed to.)

“No. It’s—I’m fine. Tell me about him. What’s he like.”

Bitty seems oddly hesitant again, but Jack tries to look interested, and it must work, because Bitty smiles and turns back to his pie again.

“…Well, he’s tall, and… he’s nice?”

Jack smiles. “Bittle, compared to you, isn’t nearly every guy on this campus tall?”

Bitty laughs. “Jack Zimmermann, that was _rude_.”

Jack smiles even more in his head because Bitty _laughed_ and it’s _working_. Outside of his head, he tosses a little flour at Bitty.

“Anyway, we… had a class together. That was nice.”

“What was he like? Did he talk as much as you did in ours?”

Bitty looks oddly amused by the chirp, which wasn’t what Jack was going for, but that’s good too.

“No, not at all. Never spoke up in class if he could help it. Didn’t always pay as much attention as he should have, either—too busy doodling in his notebook to actually _take notes_ half the time.” Bitty’s smile is still a little strange, but he looks up at Jack teasingly, and Jack laughs.

“So did you help _him_ out or did you leave him to struggle?”

“ _Jack_! It would have _served you right_ if I _had_ , but no, I saved you, and your final project turned out _wonderfully_ , didn’t it?” Bitty pauses, blinking, and then apparently notices he didn’t actually answer the question. “—And no, I’ll have you know, I was a _good_ friend and helped him. Too.”

There’s something odd in his voice during the last sentence.

“…Did he thank you?”

Jack doesn’t intend to sound as threatening as he thinks he does there, but it apparently amuses Bitty.

“Yes, yes, it’s all right, you don’t need to go intimidate him or anything, he said plenty.”

“So. Why do you—what—um. does he—” Jack tries to think of something specific to ask about “—oh. your music.”

Bitty starts laughing, though it sounds the slightest bit sad again. “What, do we talk about music? Um… yeah, we do. A lot, actually. It’s nice.”

(Jack doesn’t make a mental note that Bitty enjoys talking about music with the guy he likes and definitely doesn’t wonder if _he_ knows all the artists Bitty likes already. Nothing of the sort. He certainly doesn’t decide to change the subject again; his next question is just as randomly chosen as the last.)

“So. is he cute.”

Bitty _blushes_. “…well, yes…”

"What does he look like?’

"Um… well, he’s tall, with dark hair and… and nice eyes, that always look a little sad, even when he’s laughing."

Bitty’s stopped moving and is staring at the counter in front of him as if picturing his face. Jack silently kicks himself for asking that. What was he _thinking?_ This is about helping Bitty feel better, but does that _have_ to mean seeing him get lost in thought about his crush’s eyes?

The oven timer goes off and Bitty startles, apparently remembering he was in the middle of something, and shakes his head like he’s shaking off the daydream before getting the pie. He and Jack are both done with the other pies now, and so Bitty puts the last two pies in and sets the timer again.

Jack gets him to starts talking again as they begin to clean up the kitchen. “Um. You said—even when he laughs. his eyes still look sad. does he. um. laugh a lot?”

Bitty smiles. “No… well, he laughs much more than he used to.” _His_ eyes look sad now, though only for a moment. “I didn’t think he _could_ for a while, but he does sometimes. He has a nice laugh. I like it.”

And okay, Jack is trying to do whatever he can to help Bitty cheer up, but this is—he changes the subject again.

“So—you said—you met him. in class. Do you still have class with him?”

Bitty looks confused for a moment, but then his face clears. “Oh, no, we just had the one class together.”

And— _no_ , he looks sad again. Jack almost goes back to asking what he’s like but tries one more time to find something else. “Um. Outside of class—do you still—”

“Oh, we do still see each other outside of class! We hang out a lot more now, actually—” He stops in the middle of his sentence and makes a strange face. “Um, so, yes, we do.”

Jack mentally braces himself. “You were talking. before. about what he looks like.”

Bitty nods. “Um, so where was I?—Oh, right. So, he’s… um, he’s… athletic. Very athletic.” He blushes. Jack is amused despite himself.

“What sport?”

Bitty freezes, and Jack realizes he might not want to say. “I mean. If you want. You don’t have to.”

Bitty starts moving again, though more slowly than before. “I…I’d rather not, I think.”

Jack is the one to pause this time, finally making a connection.

“…Bittle. Is it—does he—” Jack cuts himself off in the middle of his question, because Bitty literally _just said_ he didn’t want to answer that and Jack is going to respect his privacy, but it’s too late. Bitty’s staring at a spot on the counter he was wiping down, his hand still holding the cloth a few inches away. “—I’m sorry. I shouldn’t.”

“No, I mean… it’s… well. It’s not your fault, I’m the one answering the questions here.”

“I know, but. I shouldn’t. I’m.” Jack sighs angrily, frustrated for once with his difficulty finding the right words. “I thought—you were sad and. I wanted to help. I didn’t mean—”

“No, I know, and thank you. I do appreciate it, you’ve been very sweet, it’s just… well. Seeing someone every day and knowing they’ll never—” Bitty stops, looking utterly stricken.

Jack can’t blame him. _Every day_ —does he—he _has_ to mean, or why else would he have that expression?

“Bittle, I’m sorry. I didn’t know.”

And somehow Bitty’s face falls even further, and he flinches. “No, no, no! It’s not your _fault_ , you didn’t—I didn’t mean to tell you, but you were just trying to be a good _friend_ , and I’m _sorry_ , it was never supposed to be a big deal, I just…”

Jack is confused now—what does _Bitty_ have to apologize for? _He’s_ the one who kept prying into Bitty’s private business and accidentally found out about his secret crush on one of their friends, how is any of this something Bitty should feel bad for telling him?

“What? no, why—it’s—you don’t—you shouldn’t—um. don’t feel bad. I’m sorry.”

And Bitty winces again. “I know I shouldn’t, you’re— _oh_ and I didn’t even—I haven’t told you—”

Jack is completely lost.

“ _IheardyouandKentParsontalking_ , I’m sorry! I should have told you, I just… I didn’t know what to say…” Bitty’s voice trails off, having gotten slower and slower after the initial rush of words, like he’d used up all his courage and momentum getting that out. 

Jack is still very confused, and is trying to take the new information in, but is also finding himself making some connections.

“Wait. Bittle. Hold on.” He pauses, getting his thoughts in order. “So. wait. You said he—the—the guy you like. You thought he was straight. and then you heard him talking to his ex. and you meant. Kent and. me.”

Bitty nods slightly, his eyes downcast.

“So… it. the—it’s. he’s— _me_.”

Bitty swallows and nods again, still staring at Jack’s shirt in favor of making eye contact. “Didn’t you—wasn’t that what you were apologizing for? When you said you didn’t know? I thought—”

Jack cuts Bitty off. Time enough for sorting out what just happened and what they’ve said later. The important question right now is “—Bitty. Can I kiss you?”

Bitty’s head flies up and he finally meets Jack’s eyes. He looks completely stunned, but also like he’s just heard something too good to be real.

“What? no, _yes_ , of course, I’m—I thought you—”

Neither of them care how that sentence was going to end, which is good, because Jack leans down as Bitty speaks, and even as he tries to finish talking Bitty finds himself stretching up to meet Jack halfway, and then Bitty’s arms are around Jack’s neck and Jack has one hand on Bitty’s back and one hand behind his head, fingers in his hair, and when they finally pull apart to breathe it feels like hours later and like no time has passed at all.

“—What just happened?”

“…we kissed.”

“No, I mean—I thought you—didn’t you say, at the party? to—in your room, you were talking to—to him, and I thought you meant—I thought you still liked him.”

“Bittle. I—When I said—earlier, we were talking. you said today was hard. and I. said I knew. I didn’t—I meant you. not him.”

“I—but—but he’s _Kent Parson_ , why would you—I don’t understand.”

Jack shrugs. He’s gotten past the “why” to the “whatever, feelings are weird and how do emotions in general” and has in the last couple minutes finally made it into “we could be kissing _right now_ and we’re not.”

“Yeah. he is. and you’re you.” Bitty looks about to say something else, probably still along the lines of “but _why_ ,” and rather than trying and probably failing to find the words to somehow answer all his questions and fix everything, Jack opts for simply saying “ _Bittle,_ " in a firm, half amused, half exasperated, tone of voice, "I like _you_ ,” and kissing him again.

* * *

Eventually, after the last pies come out of the oven, they move to the living room. Bitty refuses to let either of them sit on the couch, so they end up sitting in the same chair.

Well, more _Jack_ ends up sitting in the chair and _Bitty_ ends up sitting in Jack’s lap. Same thing, really.

They talk for a while, sorting out what Bitty had overheard/assumed and what the actual truth of the matter was, with breaks to kiss every so often.

Finally they’ve got all that cleared up, or close enough; Bitty may still have some doubts left but those are swiftly disappearing, thanks in no small part to Jack’s use of kissing as a technique to reassure him that all of this is real and happening. And also just to kiss him, because he can do that now.

They sit quietly for a while, cuddling, Jack’s fingers combing through Bitty’s hair, before Jack breaks the silence.

“So. ‘nice eyes’?”

“…you’re going to chirp me about literally everything I said tonight, aren’t you.”

“Not _tonight_.”

“…So you’re going to chirp me about all of it, just not right away so you can drag it out longer.”

“yes.”

“Oh, lord, what _have_ I gotten myself into?”

Jack laughs.

* * *

They never do watch the documentary Jack had hoped to, but when the rest of their Hausmates finally trickle back in, hours later, the two of them are still there in the living room together, sound asleep.

Ransom has the pictures to prove it.  


**Author's Note:**

> cross-posting a prompt fill from tumblr:  
> "but like jack and bitty on valentine's day, everyone's left the Haus but bitty stayed to bake pies and wallow while eating those pies and jack decides to come back to the Haus 'cause he missed bitty and cute things happen????? ~ iburgleturtles"
> 
> Credit to sarah ([mutuisanimis](http://archiveofourown.org/users/mutuisanimis)) for being a fantastic beta)
> 
> Title from the Taylor Swift song Bitty was listening to when Jack walked in, "Teardrops On My Guitar", from her self-titled first album, bc sometimes you just want to listen to sad music about the boy you like who’s in love with someone else.
> 
> (ETA: this was, presumably obviously, written/posted before Parse III, and so was written without knowledge of what bitty actually heard at epikegster/the actual nature of jack's relationship with kent; i have chosen to leave it up, but please do not take this as an accurate picture of my interpretation of jack/his relationship with kent, as it is very much No Longer That)


End file.
